Armenian MP accuses Macron of supporting authoritarian regime

PanARMENIAN.Net - Opposition MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan has sharply criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, claiming his recent statement supports the emergence of an authoritarian regime in Armenia.

In a Facebook post, Saghatelyan, a representative of the ARF Supreme Body, accused Macron of backing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan under the pretense of supporting democracy.

“The French president’s statement, unfortunately, encourages the authoritarian system that is forming in Armenia,” wrote Saghatelyan. “Dear President Emmanuel Macron, your ‘support’ for Nikol Pashinyan in fact aids not the development of democracy but the rise of dictatorship in Armenia and the emergence of a new autocrat in the region.”

He argued that Western praise for the Armenian government’s so-called “bold steps” has ended in national disaster, pointing to the ethnic cleansing and depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh as a tragic outcome.

Macron had earlier expressed solidarity with Armenia against “attempts to destabilize Armenian democracy,” according to a post on his X account referencing a call with Pashinyan.

Saghatelyan warned that such international statements may be perceived as direct interference in domestic affairs, undermining Armenian-French friendship by legitimizing authoritarianism under the guise of democracy.

He emphasized that political forces in Armenia are struggling to preserve their identity and the rights of the people, adding, “There is no need to strike at Armenian-French friendship and legitimize dictatorship in the name of democracy.”

Meanwhile, law enforcement in Armenia has intensified actions against the opposition Sacred Struggle movement. On June 25, authorities began searches at supporters’ residences, accusing the group of plotting terrorist acts and an attempted coup.

Movement leader Archbishop Bagrat was detained for two months, along with 14 others. On June 27, about 30 masked individuals stormed the Shirak Diocese, where security forces also attempted to detain Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan. Though initially willing to cooperate, a scuffle led him to depart with the Catholicos. He later turned himself in and was also remanded for two months.

Ajapahyan faces charges of publicly calling for actions aimed at seizing power, violating territorial integrity, renouncing sovereignty, or overthrowing the constitutional order.